Combined engine and compressor.



4 PATBNTED APR. 12, 1904. s. A.- EEEVE. COMBINED ENGINE AND GOMPRESSOR.

APPLICATION FILEDv MAR. 11. 1901.

H0 MODEL.

I| |lIIll| UNITED STATES Patented April 12 1904.

PATENT OFFICE.

SIDNEY A. REEVE, OF WORCESTER, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TO CHARLES F.BROWN, TRUSTEE, OF READING, MASSACHUSETTS.

COMBINED ENGINE AND COMPRESSOR.

, SPECIFICATIONforming part of Letters Patent No. 757,410, dated April12, 1904:.

Application filed March 11, 1901.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, SIDNEY A. REEvE, of Worcester, in the county ofWorcester and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new anduseful Improvements in a Combined -Engine and Compressor, of which thefollowing is a specification.

This invention relates to apparatus in which an elastic-fluid compressoris combined with a motor of the steam-engine type for drivingit.

The main objects of the invention are to measurably equalize crankeffort throughout the stroke to avoid diametric reversal strains throughthe crank-shaft and crank-pin bearings and to decrease friction.

The invention consists in certain novel features of construction andarrangement, which I shall now proceed to describe and claim.

Of the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 represents a side elevation of acombined engine and compressor constructed in accordance with myinvention. Fig. 2 represents a diagramm atic view showing amodification. Fig. 3 represents a side elevation showing anothermodification.

In all of the figures only such parts of a working apparatus are shownas to renderthe invention clearly understandable.

Referring at first to Fig. 1, 1 and 2 represent two cylinders of anengine adapted to use steam or other suitable expansive fluid and havingpistons 3 4:, piston-rodeo 6, and crossheads. 7 8 at the outer ends ofsaid piston-rods, the guides for the cross-heads being omitted for thesake of clearness. 9 is a crank-shaft having a crank 10, and 11 is arigid triangular connecting-rod, hereinafter termed the trirod, pivotedat its outer angle to the wrist or crank pin 12, at its upper innerangle to a wrist-pin 13 at the cross-head 7 and at its lower inner angleto a wrist-pin 14, which is connected by a link 15 to a wrist-pin 16 atthe cross-head 8. 17 is a compressor-cylinder Serial No. 50,536. (Nomodel.)

ciprocating motion as a whole through space, and the two engine-pistons3 4 reach dead- ,points at different times in the stroke of the gaged inproducing an upward effort on the crank-pin. In midstroke of piston 18all hori-- zontal forces are well equalized, the crankpin 12 receivingonly the normal excess of motive over compressive forces necessary tomaintain rotation. Later in piston 18s stroke when the resistance due tocompression is a maximum piston 4 has reached its righthand dead-point,or is practically arrested by cushion, and pin16 is acting as a fulcrum,whereby the remaining force behind piston 3, assisted by inertia,operates against piston 18 with a decided mechanical advantage. Theresultant eflort on the crank-pin at this point and immediatelythereafter when piston 4 has started to the left is a downward one, or,in other words, the reversal of strains at the beginning of theleft-handed stroke occurs rotatively in the same direction as therotation of the crank on both crank-shaft and crankpin instead ofoccurring diametrically through the bearings of these parts. I therebyavoid the racking strains and the necessity for extra size and care ofbearings which are incident to many types of compressor apparatus. Thereturn stroke toward the left is substantially a repetition of thattoward the right. By proper design on the lines herein indicated thecrank may be caused to receive a forward acceleration in all parts ofits stroke, even with a compressor absorbing a large proportion of thepower of the engine, whereby I avoid the use of an excessively-heavyflywheel.

The apparatus herein illustrated is particularly adapted to furnish anexcess of power for outside purposes beyond that required forconsiderations which will occur to the skilled designer and need not beenumerated here.

The pin 21 may be located anywhere in rigid connection with the trirod11, and in engines compressing air or other fluid for their ownconsumption, where the power absorbed 1n compresslon is an lmportantportion of that developed in the motor-cylinders, it is sometimesadvantageous to make the point 21 coincide with 14:, as illustrateddiagrammatically in Fig. 2. This figure also shows the engine-piston 4driving the compressor-piston 18 directly by a straight-line connection,leaving the engine-piston 3 principally to the task of rotating thecrank 10. The two piston-rods 6 19 are in this case continuations theone of the other and are provided at 24 with a wrist connected by anearly parallel link 25 with the lower wrist 14 on the trirod 11- Thisis a good design where the power developed is divided about equallybetween the two motorcylinders and the power absorbed by the compressoris approximately one-half of the total developed.

In Fig. 3 is shown a second modification, wherein the motion for twocompressor-cylinders 17 and 26 is taken ofi from the pin 21 by arock-lever 27, pivoted at 28 to a stationary support and connected by awrist-pin 29 at its lower end and links 30 31 with wrist-pins 23 32 onthe cross-heads 20 33 at the ends of the compressor piston-rods 19 34.In this case ratus is the same for eitherdirection of rotation of thecrank.

I cla1m 1. A combined steam-engine and compressor comprising twoengine-cylinders having nonsynchronous pistons, acrank, a rigidreciprocating member connecting the two pistons with the crank, and anelastic-fluid-compressor cylinder whose piston receives motion'from saidreciprocating member, and is timed to reach dead-point slightly ahead ofthe later of the two engine-pistons.

2. A combined steam-engine and compressor comprising twoengine-cylinders having nonsynchronous pistons, a crank, a rigidconnecting member having wrists connecting it with the later-timed ofthe two pistons and with the crank and a third wrist, an elastic-fluidcompressor having its piston alined and rigidly connected with theearlier-timed engine-piston, and a link connecting the said third wristwith the said alined pistons.

In testimony whereof I have afiixed my signature in presence of twowitnesses.

SIDNEY A. REEVE.

Witnesses:

H. L. ROBBINS. G. F. BROWN.

